For Nora Zekkaria ’26, planning for a career in law has meant thinking several steps ahead. 

The Criminology and Criminal Justice major with a minor in Law and Public Policy from Allentown, Pa., is graduating a year early after carefully mapping out her academic path and getting hands-on experience as an intern with Arcadia’s Office of General Counsel (OGC).

“It’s very calculated, and to some, probably crazy,” Zekkaria said. “I have everything in a spreadsheet, and I document all my progress on that. I figured that if I do a 3-year accelerated graduation, then I’ll have a year to work in the field. The goal is to get a year under my belt, build my resume for law school, and then apply in the next round of admissions.”

In her internship with OGC, Zekkaria is gaining firsthand insight into how legal work operates behind the scenes at an institution. She’s assisted with reviewing and updating the University’s policy library, ensuring documents remain accurate and consistent with current laws and standards.

“They give me these projects that are not just busy work that they created; it’s actually assignments and things that need to get done for the University,” Zekkaria said. “I think that’s probably been the most important part of the internship, making sure that things are accurate and factual, because if you’re a law office, that’s kind of your entire job. Also, just to sit and listen to the conversations that they’re having behind the scenes that I wouldn’t normally get, just as a student in my classes.”

Her work also underscored the importance of maintaining clear and current policies at a university.

“It’s so important because although some of them might seem kind of non-applicable to everyday students, there are a lot of them that pertain to civil rights,” she said. “And so, that in itself is fundamentally important to make sure that there are no rights being infringed upon.”

Zekkaria’s dedication to this work earned her a Knight Code of Honor recognition for demonstrating justice.

“I think that was probably the most important pillar for my field to be nominated for, especially with the work that I’ve done with general counsel,” she said. “Justice is one of the main reasons people go into being a lawyer or judge, or even just going to law school to have that degree and have that experience, and I think one of the most important things is fighting for what’s right. 

“People say if you like to argue, you could be a lawyer. And yes, I do enjoy a good argument, but I think it’s more than that. You also have to appreciate the justice aspect of it, and fighting for something that you believe in, and then getting the preferred outcome. So I feel like that pillar specifically was so fundamental to what I believe and the work that I’m doing currently.”

Beyond academics and internships, Zekkaria has been active in campus life. She spent two and a half years on the softball team and is involved in the Criminal Justice Society, the Pre-Law Association, and the Honors Program.

Zekkaria is also applying her legal interests to her senior thesis, which examines legal responsibility surrounding viral social media trends that lead to injury or harm.

“They’re resulting in harm, or in a lot of cases, death,” Zekkaria said. “It’s been interesting to look into that, and interview legal personnel specifically to ask them their opinion on how you should assess these crimes, whether the platforms should be responsible, the individuals, or the parents.”

Looking back on her time at Arcadia, Zekkaria says one lesson stands out: opportunities often require initiative.

“You really do have to go out of your way and find these things,” she said. “I feel very fortunate to have found the position that I did, and I don’t think that everybody knows about these things. You really have to go  Googling and asking connections. I’ve made so many connections before this internship, but also because of this internship, so I think networking and communication have been the biggest overall themes with this.”

Zekkaria hopes to find a legal-related position after graduation, ideally in her hometown of Allentown, where she already has connections in the local court system.